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Food crisis on agenda of G-8 summit

04/18/2008

BY YUSUKE MURAYAMA AND SHINYA MINAMISHIMATHE ASAHI SHIMBUN

The government on Wednesday decided to put the global food crisis, which has sparked riots and political unrest, on the agenda of the Group of Eight summit in July, sources said.

The government plans to convey the plan to G-8 delegates attending a meeting in Japan next week to prepare for the summit at Lake Toyako, Hokkaido.

Officials hope a set of emergency measures to ease food shortages and other problems caused by soaring prices can be worked out at the fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama in May.

Those steps would be followed by mid- to long-term measures, such as setting international rules to stabilize food prices and increasing food production, to be unveiled at the G-8 summit.

Food prices have been rapidly rising due to a combination of factors: growing demand from China, India and other emerging economies; speculative investments into the grains market; and increased crop diversion to biofuel production.

Staple food prices have increased by as much as 80 percent from 2005 levels, according to the World Bank.

In March, the price of rice hit its highest level in 19 years while wheat reached a 28-year high.

The World Food Program, a United Nations aid agency that distributes food to poverty-stricken people, has reported a $500-million (50-billion-yen) shortage in its budget due to rising procurement costs.

"The rapidly escalating crisis of food availability around the world has reached emergency proportions," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon said in a speech Monday.

The inability to access staple food has hit the poorest hard and brought about unrest in many developing countries.

Haiti's prime minister was dismissed early this month after widespread looting on shopping streets in the Central American nation.

Protests over food shortages have broken out in Egypt, Cameroon and other countries, leading to injuries and deaths.(IHT/Asahi: April 18,2008)

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